The Cage
by GrazielaL
Summary: "I need a witch" Kol said. And then hell broke loose. [[Kennett-Bamon-Klonnie]]


**Hi! So, this one was supposed to be a second oneshot for "The Bamon-Klonnie Experiment", but as I wrote it, it became more and more Kennett than Klonnie, so I decided it deserved its own space :)**

**Hope you guys enjoy.  
**

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_This is a non-profit, for-fun-only piece of literature. The Vampire Diaries, its characters and everything related are property of Lisa Jane Smith and The CW. I own only the words put together.  
This content is under a Creative Commons (cc) license._

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**The Cage**

.

"I need a witch."

His voice echoed around the fancy room for a little while. Klaus looked at his younger brother and arched a brow.

"I am well aware of your _preferences_, brother. But you are telling me this because...?"

Kol snorted.

"Well, you have one. Give me her." He said, standing in front of his brother.

"Do I? And who would _her_ be?" Klaus replied, with a smirk.

"For God's sake, Niklaus! The Bennett lass. I need some _magical_ favors, but all the witches I have ever met are dead by now. Allow me to have her, just for a few days."

Klaus poured a glass of whiskey, sat down on a chair, and smiled at Kol.

"I don't _really_ know why you think Bonnie Bennett is mine, brother. Actually, I don't think she would ever let someone rule her tameless self." Klaus took a long sip, thinking about the pretty young witch, and how much of a rogue she was. "But you _did_ give me some ideas about her." He got up and drank it all at once. "Come with me. We are going to solve our witch lack."

…

"No! Get lost."

Damon rolled his eyes, not believing what happened. Just sitting at the Mystic Grill's bar, drinking his bourbon, and thinking about Rick's death - yeah, he really thought his evening would be that simple. But, nooo. There had to be these Original assholes, trying to drag him into some stupid plan about kidnapping Bonnie Bennett. _Bonnie!_ What do those jerks have in their heads? Do they really want a migraine so bad?

"I think my offer is really tempting. You give me the Bennett lady, I leave _your_ Elena alone." Klaus pointed a glass of brandy at him. "No more doppelganger hunting for me. I give you my word."

Damon side eyed from Klaus to Kol, standing next to his brother. Were they serious?

"First: I don't trust you or your word. Second: _give you_ Bonnie? Like what, you can't get a girl by yourself? Whatta loser, blonde" He snorted. "By the way, it's not like she's mine to _give_. And Bonnie would never, believe me, _never ever_ work with you." He got up and payed the bartender. "Anyway... She's _a lot_ more helpful by my side. At least for me." A beat. "No deal, gentlemen. I'm _so _sorry."

Klaus grinned, giving Kol a sign.

"Well, I am _not._" Kol said, staking Damon in the chest.

…

Damon woke up at the floor, in an empty, dark room. There was dirt on his face, and his head and chest were aching. With one hand he carefully took off the wooden stake that was still pinned deep down his chest.

"What the fuck." He got up, trembling, and looked around, trying to figure out where in the world he was being held. There was a door, locked from the outside as long as he could see, and no light coming from the walls, which means he was, probably, under the ground. The floor was so dirty it looked like there was no pavement, just bare earth. And he felt his own blood _burning_ so bad through his veins that made him sure there was just _a lot_ of vervain in his system.

He remembered it now: Klaus showed up at the Grill, his younger brother Kol along side, and made such a _sweet_ proposal of exchanging Elena's safety for Bonnie's. He wanted the witch in his team, and wanted Damon's help to get her - by force.

Damon clenched his teeth. "Judgey."

Letting himself fall to the ground, he held his forehead with both hands, forcing his brain to work through all the ache and confusion. A glimpse. In his jeans' pocket, he found his cell phone.

"Dumb grandpas, God bless 'em."

Crawling away from the door, he sat with his backs against the irregular wall. Lucky him: almost no signal, but enough battery for a single call. He dialed #3, and a picture of her face showed on the screen, right above her name.

Damon held his breath while it rang once- How much time had he been unconscious?-, twice - was it too late? Did those sons of a bitch get her already?-, then she finally picked up at the third ring. _Third time's a charm_, he thought.

"I really expect you're dying or something, otherwise _wait 'til tomorrow_, I'm sleeping!" Her voice was sleepy and a little bit moody. Damon smiled to himself.

"Listen to me... Bennett." A beat. Suddenly, Bonnie felt herself completely awake. She could hear by his tone he was hurt. "Don't leave your... house, don't invite anyone in, don't... answer your phone. Whatever happens outside your door, I need you to... stay in." He took a deep breath, listening as she hold hers. "Call Stefan and tell him that I'm _probably..._ at the Mikaelson's basement."

"What? Wow, wow wait. You're at the Mikaelsons' mansion? Damon, what happened, why do I have to lock myself inside home?"

Damon sighed. He should have known better. Nothing was that easy with Bonnie Bennett. She wasn't the kind of girl who simply followed orders. No, never the sheep. She was the kind who asked questions, the kind who wanted reasons. _Force of Nature._

"I... Damn, I got caught. And I think they're after you. Klaus said he wanted to... to _kidnap_ you, Bonnie. He and his brother... Kol... Beware." A beat. "Witchy... you still there? Listen, if I don't make it... If... Anything happen, I just..."

And then his phone was dead. Damon threw the device against the wall, laying his head back.

"I just want you to know... all of that was _worth_, Bonnie." He mumbled to the dark room.

...

Bonnie couldn't hear whatever it was Damon wanted to say. The call suddenly was over, and she was terrified.

She knew Klaus wasn't someone you would like to play with, and Kol was the only Original brother she hadn't met yet, so she could only guess what he was capable of.

_If they could take Damon down, it's really serious. Guy is a jerk, but I wouldn't say he's weak._

Also, why would they want to kidnap _her_? And, why would they caught Damon in the process?

_What if he figured their plans out, and got on their way? Hell, Damon, I hate when you do the right thing._

Bonnie looked at her cellphone, Damon's picture still showing the interrupted call. She dialed Stefan's number. No answer. She tried Elena's, and same thing happened.

"Great. Damon is dying somewhere I don't know for sure, there are two Originals out there trying to grab me, and you guys are having sex!"

Bonnie approached her window and looked down at her porch. No one near the house. Klaus and Kol didn't come for her yet, but if Damon was telling the truth, and she could bet he was, it wouldn't take much time for them to arrive.

Fastening away from the window, she knelt, reaching underneath her bed for the grimoires she kept in a box. She opened it just in the right page, and read the spell as fast as she could.

It would be enough to confuse anyone who came closer her home into thinking she was inside, sleeping. Or whatever she wanted they to think. Really useful in case of obsessive ex-boyfriends, super protective parents, and murderous vampires.

Changing her PJ's for jeans and a tee, Bonnie grabbed her keys and cellphone, and left the room while dialing Stefan's number once again.

"Please, stay alive." She prayed shutting the door closed.

…

Damon wasn't really sure whatever he was awake or asleep. Felt like he'd just woke up, but he could remember a few messed up thoughts from the last half hour. The sound of steps outside the door made his skin crawl. Maybe this time the Originals would stake him for real, to the heart, instead of giving the adjusted-to-stun shot. At least Bonnie would be safe, locked at home and aware of the danger. At least _he_ was the one to warn her, to save her life this time.

That phone call maybe wasn't the best way of saying goodbye to the witch who saved his ass so many times, but it was something. If she was safe, it was worth the sacrifice.

"Damn, I'm softening and it's all you fault, witchy." He laughed and looked ahead, as the door opened with an annoying creak.

"Blame putting? That's how you welcome your savior, _Salvatore_?"

Damon blinked, focusing the door. The moment he saw her, he tried to get up - unsuccessfully. It couldn't be real.

"Bonnie?!"

It couldn't be her. Bonnie should be home, locked in. Bonnie should be _safe_.

Instead she was there, at the Mikaelsons' basement, mocking him.

"Damn you, Judgey." He climbed the walls to stay up in his feet. "Whatta hell are you doin' here? Told ya not to leave yo house!"

"Easy, Damon" She reached to him, helping him stand still and looking quickly for any injuries. And then she noticed the hole on his chest. "Why aren't you healing?"

"Too much vervaine." He cried when she touched the still-bleeding wound. "And I don't wanna sound cocky, but I _think_ they fed on me. I feel weak as hell, but still _delicious_."

Bonnie smiled lightly. It was so like him to joke about the whole situation.

"We need to getcha outta here." She put his arm around her shoulders and tried to give him a pull. They didn't move so much.

"Which part you didn't hear, _Bonnie? _Those bastards staked me, fed on me, and got me high on vervain. Do ya really think I can walk my way outta here? I'm barely standing!" He put some distance between them. "You shouldn't have come."

"Oh, shut up, Mother Teresa. You don't tell me what to do."

Bonnie took a further look at him. Damon looked like he had been under the ground for _months_. With no food. His skin was paler than ever, and his face, skinnier. He was all bones.

"Look, I cannot feed you my blood in here, they could smell it. What I _can_ do is a spell to make you stronger, just for a little while. It won't last more than a few minutes, and you gonna be even weaker when it's over. So as soon as I'm done, we gonna get to _run_, you heard me?"

He nodded.

"Well, I'm afraid that's gonna hurt _bad_." Pulling his shirt to expose his skin, Bonnie placed her hand gently over his bare chest. When Damon was just getting used to her warmth, she put one finger _inside_ the wound, and he cried out.

Bonnie started chanting the spell in Latin. She stirred her finger and pushed a little more, Damon crying even louder. Nothing.

Not a single spark. Not even a shiver. Nothing. Her magic wasn't working.

Then they heard the sound of the door opening. Bonnie froze in place.

"I did not know you had such a _taste_ for torture, love." Klaus said, entering the room with a smirk on his face. "But I have to admit, it makes you even more… _interesting_."

She turned around and faced the hybrid. There was someone behind him, as well. A man, tall and dark. She supposed that one was Kol. Damon groaned and tried, unsuccessfully, to put Bonnie behind himself.

"What have you done to him?" She yelled. "Why are my powers not working?"

Klaus laughed. "Me? No, love. I did nothing." He looked to the walls around them and back to her. "It happens that this house is very antique. Its first owners built these cellars to _hold_ some of their slaves, back then. The _special_ ones. Do the math, beautiful."

_Oh, great. I can't to magic in here._

"What do you want, Klaus?" Bonnie was trembling. She felt Damon's hand holding her elbow, and forced herself to stand still. He couldn't even be on his feet, hold them both was out of question.

"Shall I say _you_ or that would be too dramatic?" He took a step closer. "I want to make a deal, Bonnie. You stay my humble abode – Not here, of course, in your own room upstairs - and Damon can walk away. Alive and free."

She opened her mouth do give him hell, but it was Damon who spoke.

"You son of a bitch, you _planned_ it all! You _knew_ she'd come."

"Indeed. And may I say _thank you_, Damon? I could not have done this without you." Klaus smiled at them.

"What if I say no?" Bonnie asked, already knowing the answer.

"Well, in that case you are free to go. But Damon dies, of course." Klaus snorted. "And do not try to say you do not care, love. You _did_ come here to save him."

"You should know I warned Stefan, before I came…"

"Oh, really?" He laughed. "Well, I hope it was not by voice mail. Because my brother just informed me there is some robberies going on in this town. Right, Kol?"

Kol grinned at his brother and thrown a shiny black device at Bonnie's feet. She recognized Stefan's cellphone.

"I am afraid your other friends might have been robbed too, Miss Bennett. Sheriff Forbes is not really good at her job, is her?"

Bonnie felt her legs weakening. Leaving Stefan a message… What _stupid_ idea was that?!

"In any way," Klaus was in front of them in a blink. He took Damon's daylight ring in a fluid movement and smiled brightly at Bonnie, flipping it between his long fingers "you have until the sunset to think about my proposal." He blinked at her and threw the ring to Kol. "But you cannot leave before the dark, can you? Not without his ring." Klaus caressed her face. "Fair Bonnie, so loyal. I fancy that."

Damon groaned at the sight of Klaus coming closer to Bonnie's face, and jumped at the original's neck. It only took Klaus one hand to throw him against the wall. Bonnie screamed as Damon's body slipped to the ground.

"You could do way better than being with such pathetic creatures, love. You have so much potential." That said, he turned to leave, while she ran to Damon.

Putting Damon's head on her lap, she looked angrily at their captors.

"Oh, I _almost_ forgot." Klaus glanced at Kol. "We do not want our lovely guest to be used as a blood bag, right brother?." He turned at Bonnie, while Kol walked into the cell and gently handled her a pack of O+, with a sympathetic smile. "The Salvatore moron would hurt you, love. And that would make me _very_ angry at him, so do not make any foolish thing. My brother Kol will be near, if you need something." Bonnie felt it was also a threat; Kol would be right across the door, ready to tear Damon in two if they tried to escape. "I suggest you to use this time, beautiful, and think about my offer. With us, you could reach your full potential, Bonnie. No more _friends_ taking you for granted, no more lives to save, no more sacrificing yourself for people who do not appreciate the things you do. Just power and pleasure. Just you, love, taking what is rightfully yours." He and Kol exited the cell. "I will be back at evening to hear your decision. Until that, think." They locked the door, leaving Bonnie with an harmed, moaning Damon on the floor.

…

Klaus smiled at his glass, and turned his head down to the drawing, adding the last details to the dark curls of a smiling paper Bonnie. Kol walked by, standing next to him.

"You did not lie, Niklaus. That witch is a fierce little thing."

"Indeed. And also strong willed." He looked up to the younger man. "Do not underestimate her. I have been fooled by that girl more times than I would like to admit."

"And, still, you think _this _plan will be successful?"

Klaus snorted. "She may brag about hating our kind, but she _did _came, after all. And I would bet that the thought of leaving that _stupid excuse of a vampire_ behind never crossed her mind."

Kol lifted a brow. He didn't know much about the girl, not enough to predict her actions, but it was at least funny that a witch would care to come in the rescue of a vampire. Klaus noticed his expression.

"Damon Salvatore, my dear brother, is - as they say in this century - her _soft spot_. Our witch is _so loyal_ to the ones she cares about... She would even give herself, _and_ her magic, to save them. Her loyalty is the key. Is exactly what we need to conquer" Klaus dropped the pencil and stood up. "I am not really fond of her decision of protecting _him_, though. But is just a matter of time. Soon, she will be in _much better_ companies... And you should be down there taking care of our guests, brother."

...

Damon was desperately sucking from the blood bag, as far from her as he could be in that little room. Bonnie tried to help him feed, but he managed to make her angry by saying it was "all her fault", and that she should have listened to him and stayed in home.

As she watched him drink, though, the anger started to vanish. He was acting like that _probably_ because he was freaking hungry, and her noisy heart bombing blood through her veins wasn't helping. Ok, also because he _was_ an asshole just like that.

And somehow, she thought, he was ashamed of her. Ashamed of being so weak in front of who, let's face it, was kind of his favorite enemy. Ashamed of the craving for blood, of his wounds. And the fact that she was supposed to choose between his life or her freedom. Yeah, she understood Damon. _He simply doesn't like to be the weak link_.

"I've seen you drink blood before, ya know." She said looking at his back. "You don't have to hide."

It took a few moments before he turned at her, empty bag in his hand and trying to wipe the blood off his face with his sleeve.

"I'm not hiding, witchy, I'm thinking. Just didn't want your judgy face looking at me and messing with my thoughts." He pouted and Bonnie couldn't help but laugh a little. "What is so funny?"

"Sorry. I just never thought you'd admit that I blow your mind like _that_, Damon." She said with a cocky grin making him smile.

"Oh, you're the funny one now, Bennett? Not really like you, isn't it?"

She approached him, discreetly checking his scratches.

"Well, we've been worst" She sat on the ground, next to him "I don't know... I'm just not afraid of this kinda stuff anymore. It's like a daily routine, you know. Brush my teeth, go to school, fight a vampire, have lunch... A girl gotta learn how to have some fun through it all." She shrugged, and came closer. "Ok, I'm gonna pull your shirt a little, but it's just to check your wounds out. Try not to be too flattered." She did, carefully looking if the stake's hole was healing, and took a relieved sigh when she saw that it was almost closed. "Good. No bleeding."

"Concerned about my well-being, checking me out, and taking off my clothes in a dark room... How am I supposed not to be flattered, Bennett?" He grinned at her.

"Oh, shut up!"

...

Kol smiled while he overheard the conversation through the cellar's wall. The witch was actually _flirting_ with a vampire. And she was quite good at it. But, yeah, the fact that said vampire was flirting _back _wasn't that tendering.

Somehow, the idea of her being on their side by her _own_ _will_ gave him this sense of tenure, of possession. And Damon Salvatore _should not_ be flirting with his possessions.

…

Damon looked seriously at her. They've been in silence for a while, tension growing as minutes flew by.

"Listen, I was thinking..."

"Surprises never stop, do them?" She grinned.

"You funny little thing." He said, not amused. "I'm serious."

"Just so you know how everyone feels around you all the time." She dropped the grin. "Go head."

"We are not far from sunset, I guess." He looked up to the ceiling. "When they come, I want you to tell them" then glanced at her "that you're leaving."

"Not gonna happen."

"Don't be stupid. If you get outta here, we may have a chance. You go warn my brother and we both will be safe."

"Yeah, but they might just kill you once I leave..."

"Do you care?"

"You know I do!" She sighed. It was impossible to have Damon not doing everything his way. "It's better if I stay. You get out, get Stefan and everyone else and then you rescue me. And, anyway, once I'm out of this _dungeon_, I'll be able to use magic again, so..."

"You don't see it, do you? Bonnie, they'd planned it _all_. They _knew_ I was gonna say no, they knew I would call you! They just sat their asses on a chair and waited for you to come here. Everything we did, every step we took, they predicted it. You really think will be that easy for us just break in here and rescue you once you're up under their arms?"

Bonnie was caught speechless. They _did_ predict everything so far, and it was frightening. And frustrating. What could she possibly do that they didn't know beforehand?

"I can't leave you here..."

"And that's exactly why you _will_. Because doing so is not like you _at all_, superhero."

She could not help but smile at that. _Superhero_. That's how he saw her?

"Damon, they're gonna kill you. We can't..."

"No, they won't." He snorted. "I ain't no sheep, Bonnie Bennett. They come for me?, well they better be prepared, because I'm not giving in so easily. And I'm _a hell_ of a fighter." _Just like you_, he wanted to add. "No way you're staying here with _them_." He looked deep in her eyes and then noticed his tone was a little too enthusiastic. "You know, Elena would _kill me._"

Bonnie smirked and took her eyes off of him. _It's all about Elena. It's always about Elena._

They looked at each other as they heard the door being opened. Breaths were held.

…

Kol was growing more and more irritated by Damon. The knight in shining armor, making everything go to waste. The witch was _his_, she was Kol's property. Nevertheless, the stupid Salvatore seemed unaware of the danger he was getting himself into. Nobody messes with Kol's stuff.

And all that self-sacrificing behavior was getting on his nerves. So the asshole wanted to stay in the cellar and save Bonnie by doing so? No. Not in Kol's turn.

...

Kol entered the dark chamber and faced both of his hostages. Bonnie stood up to stand between the two vampires, and looked at Kol.

"This will not be necessary." Kol smiled at her.

"This... what?" She looked from him do Damon.

"He" Kol pointed at the other vampire, behind her "staying."

"She's not gonna stay here with you, baby Klaus. You assholes ain't winning this time." Damon got by Bonnie's side to face Kol. His hand flew instinctively to her shoulder.

Kol swallowed a groan as he saw Damon's gesture. _How dare him?_

"I am not talking to you, Salvatore" Kol said, with clenched teeth "and watch your words, a maiden is present." He looked at Bonnie and smiled at her. "I am so sorry, miss Bennett. I was saying, before this... _young man_ interrupted me, that none of you will have to stay. I am freeing you both."

"The fuck you are!" Damon yelled back at him, and in a second Kol's hands were around his neck, pressing him against the wall.

"I said _watch your words._" the original groaned. "Next time you curse around her, I will have your tongue on a plate."

Damon tried to fight back, but the other was older and stronger. Kol let him go and turned to face Bonnie.

"As I was saying, before your _friend_ here so disrespectfully interrupted me, you are both free to go."

"I don't understand." Bonnie looked at an really angry Damon, laying on the floor, and then at Kol, who was smiling at her. "You brought us here."

"In reality... _my brother_ brought you here." Once again, Kol had a sympathetic smile towards her. "But, please do not get the wrong impression. Niklaus would _never_ hurt you. He holds you on high esteem, believe me." He turned to look at Damon, pathetically lying on the floor. "He just happens to not be really fond of your friend here. But we cannot blame him, can we?"

Bonnie was really suspicious of his behavior. But yet she couldn't help her want to believe him. To trust him. Mostly because she desperately wanted a way out of there, and _not_ because of how handsome he was, she reminded herself.

"So... You just gonna let us walk away?" Kol nodded. Damon opened his mouth to talk, but Bonnie shut him up by raising her hand at him. "What about your brother? He won't be pleased, you know..."

"Klaus... Is a matter I can take care of." He handed Bonnie Damon's ring and a keychain. "Your... _Friend's _car is outside. You have about a quarter of hour before Niklaus is back." When she took what he was offering, Kol held her hand, placing a kiss on its top. "I hope you did not hurt?" She shook her head right and left. "Sweet. We will see each other again, hopefully in much better circumstances."

Damon was groaning in his corner, eying Kol as if he were the devil.

Bonnie looked down at him with a smile. "Let's get outta here"

...

"So... You _freed_ them?" Klaus said as he entered the room. Kol was sitting in the darker corner, impassively facing the older brother. "You let Bonnie and Damon walk away?"

"Yes" Kol said, not moving a muscle.

"Perfect." Klaus smiled.

…

Bonnie ignored Damon's protests as she tucked him inside the car through the passenger door. He was still growling and complaining as she turned the key and put the engine to work. But suddenly he silenced, and _this_ catch her attention.

She glanced at him as she drove fast, hitting the road back to Mystic Falls. He was staring at her, jaw tensed.

"What? You're not well enough to drive, Damon."

"You have a smile on your face" he pointed, accusingly.

She snorted.

"Wow, sorry if I'm happy we're alive"

"Tell me, _please tell me_, that it is not about him." He said, between his teeth.

"Kol? Well he _did _help us getting out, didn't he"

Damon groaned again and she turned her face to hide a smile.

…

"All went exactly as planned, then?"

Kol nodded. Everything happened as Klaus had said.

"Great. Me, Elijah, even Rebekah… She has something against each one of us. But you" Klaus pointed at his brother "She had never met you before. If one of us can bring Bonnie to our side, is you brother."

Kol smiled and walked over to the desk, where a drawing of Bonnie Bennett laid, smiling back at him.

"She is a real beauty, is not she?"

He heard Klaus laughing in agreement at his back.

"But does said beauty trust you, little brother?"

…

"Wait, you're buying that bullshit?" Damon caught her hand at the gear shift lever. "Bonnie, he's an original just like Klaus. He was in it too. You _can't_ trust him"

She pulled her hand out of his grab and placed it back in the wheel.

"I don't." She said, firmly. "But I think today he proved that _maybe _he's not as awful as his siblings. I mean, you and Stefan are brothers too, but _Stefan_ is a good guy." He narrowed his eyes at her and Bonnie laughed. "Let's just give the guy the benefit of doubt, ok?"

…

Kol slowly turned to face his brother, his smile turning into a grin and a hand still placed above the picture of her face.

"No. Not _yet._"

* * *

**So, what do you think? If you don't mind leaving a review, I'd love to hear from you.**

**In time: THERE'S NOT GONNA BE ANOTHER CHAPTER. This is it, the story is finished!**

**Thanks for reading :)**


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